Blogging and the Bottom Line
February 24, 2005
Pick an area of law ' trademark, employment, appellate, whatever ' tack "lawyer" onto it, and search the phrase on Google. Odds are, a legal blog will be among the top-ranking results ' often at the top of the list. <br>At a time when talk of online marketing invariably turns to the pseudo-science of search-engine optimization, many law firms are missing an often more sure-fire route to the top of the search-engine heap ' blogging.
Report Questions Benefits of Municipal Wireless Broadband Networks
February 24, 2005
Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco are among the major municipalities that are presently considering the establishment of city-run wireless broadband networks (Wi-Fi). They claim that by creating a public network, both the municipality and the residents would benefit. Sounds reasonable at first blush, but strong and obvious opposition from service providers such as Comcast Corporation and Verizon Communications will prove to be a major obstacle. In addition, feasibility studies are now beginning to emerge that throw more cold water on the idea of a municipal Wi-Fi utopia.
Net News
February 24, 2005
Recent developments of note in the Internet industry. This month:<br>Hollywood Lines Up Support for Net Song-Swap Case<br>Ohio Spam Bill Signed into Law <br>Utah Reworking Nation's First Ban on Computer Spyware <br>House Panel Approves Spyware Bill but Doesn't Toss Cookies <br>Student Incarcerated for Possessing Illegally Copied Movies, Music <br>EarthLink Files More Spam Suits
Court Says $10K 'Bet' Can't Settle E-tailer Fight
February 24, 2005
A $10,000 "side bet" wasn't enough to persuade a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals en banc panel to answer whether federal courts have jurisdiction over out-of-state Internet retailers.
Anti-Spyware Consortium Crumbles
February 24, 2005
The Consortium of Anti-Spyware Technology vendors (COAST) has lost its founding members, putting the group's future into question.
Defining Political Spam
February 24, 2005
The Internet has radically altered the nature of communication in the United States. Its effects on the American political campaigns are dramatic, as demonstrated during the most recent political campaign season where it played a decisive factor in several election victories. The Internet offers candidates the opportunity to contact a million votes for about $100 when using unsolicited bulk e-mails, often called spam. Under the First Amendment, political spam is generally lawful; however its use as a fundraising and other specific types of communication may cause legal difficulties. <br>By sending out unsolicited bulk e-mails, candidates sent information to millions of voters with the click of a button. Some see political spam as another nuisance, no different than commercial spam or junk mail. Others find political spam to be a form of speech. In particular, they find political spam to be protected speech.
Publius, RIP?
February 24, 2005
In a classic New Yorker cartoon, the caption reads: "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." Not so. Whether you're spouting off your views about the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" on a fan Web site, complaining about your sinking stock portfolio on a Yahoo message board or, in the case of a Texas man recently, castigating your local politicians for misspending taxpayer dollars, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows you're not a dog. And it knows your name, address and telephone number.
High Court Ethereality
February 24, 2005
I first started covering the U.S. Supreme Court just over 5 years ago. As measured in High Court years, that's barely a nanosecond-everything there moves…
Franchise Litigation: 10 Cases That Changed the Landscape in the Past Decade
February 24, 2005
<i>Armstrong Business Services, Inc., et al., Appellants v. H & R Block, et al.,</i> Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) '12,485, 96 S.W.3d 867 (Mo. App. 2002). The Armstrong case involved H&R Block franchisees who sued their franchisor for, among other things, encroaching upon the franchisees' territories through the franchisor's Internet business. H&R Block then filed a counterclaim, alleging that all of the franchisees' franchise agreements were terminable at will by Block.
Protecting Internet Communications
February 24, 2005
Law firms use Internet technology to communicate in ways that were not possible 10 years ago. <br>This boon in client-to-counsel and internal firm communications has allowed lawyers to share information as never before. But, more important, the technology associated with the Internet allows law firms direct control over Net communications because they own the individual networks that allow information to be shared, a situation that brings increased liability for copyright infringement, unless firms comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The good news for practitioners is that compliance requires little investment of time or money. Similarly, e-mail protection is readily available at little or no additional cost.
